Rare penny sells for $282K at Denver auction

A one-cent coin minted in 1943 sold for $282,000 at an auction in Denver this week.

The coin in question is one of only 10 or 15 Lincoln pennies known to exist that were mistakenly made with bronze instead of zinc-coated steel in 1943. The U.S. Mint had switched to steel that year because of copper shortages during World War II.

A handful of leftover bronze blank coins got stuck in the trap door of a tote bin used to feed the coin press machinery and the bronze pennies wound up in the coin press with the steel coins.

Wednesday’s auction was the first time this particular penny went to auction.

The auction took place as part of the World’s Fair of Money, which runs through Saturday at the Colorado Convention Center.